L.A. story: Parker vows redemption

The last time Tony Parker shared the floor with the Los Angeles Lakers, he didn’t last the night.

The Spurs’ All-Star point guard missed nine of his first 10 shots, scored four points and was thoroughly and inexplicably outplayed by Lakers’ backup Steve Blake before coach Gregg Popovich had seen enough.

Popovich yanked Parker from the fourth quarter of what became a 91-86 loss to the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers on Sunday at the Staples Center and later didn’t sugarcoat the reason why.

“He was playing awful,” Popovich said.

Redemption could come quick for Parker. Sunday afternoon at the AT&T Center, a week to the day, the second-seeded Spurs open the Western Conference playoffs against the same Lakers.

“I’m pretty sure I’ll play better than last game,” Parker said Friday.

It is a guarantee, but not a boastful one. Parker realizes he could hardly play worse than the day he was outdueled by Blake, who scored 23 points.

“Last time we played L.A., it was maybe the worst game of my season,” Parker said. “I had a rough shooting night, and everything was hurting.”

Up until March 1, when Parker sprained his left ankle landing awkwardly on the foot of Sacramento guard Isaiah Thomas, he was playing — as Popovich wasted no opportunity to note — like the best point guard in the NBA.

He averaged 26.1 points and 8.3 assists in February after being named the Western Conference’s Player of the Month in January and led the Spurs to the top of the NBA standings.

At the time, Parker, 30, was generating buzz as perhaps the league’s Most Valuable Player not named LeBron James or Kevin Durant.

He would miss the next eight games with the injury and spend the rest of the regular season trying to work himself back into form.

When it comes to explaining how the Spurs went from owning the best record in the league to playing .500 during their last 20 games, it starts with the day Parker went down.

“We were the best team in the league for a while because Tony was the best point guard in the league,” guard Manu Ginobili said. “Tony has been our best player for a while, and we need him to perform.”

In 10 games since his return from the sprained ankle, Parker averaged 16.5 points and 7.3 assists.

During that time, he has interspersed Parker-like performances (24 points and eight assists against the Clippers, 22 points and 10 assists against the Kings) with single-digit scoring outings against the Lakers and Oklahoma City. Loath to make excuses for poor play, Parker admits he has been dealing with more than just a sore ankle.

“(The ankle sprain) triggers a lot of different stuff,” he said. “Your back hurts, then your knee hurts, because you try to compensate.”

“There’s no excuse now,” he added. “It’s the playoffs.”

With either Blake or the 39-year-old Steve Nash set to start for the Lakers in the series, the point guard matchup is one the Spurs believe they can win. If Parker is Parker.

For his part, Parker hopes the opening of the playoffs will serve as a revival for himself, his battered body and a team that limped and lurched through April.

“It’s the best time of the year,” Parker said. “It’s the playoffs, and we’re playing the Lakers. You can’t ask for anything more.”

Parker’s teammates, who watched him put together an All-NBA season last year and perhaps another one this year, have no doubt the French star can rediscover his je ne sais quoi in time for Game 1.

“We trust him,” Ginobili said. “We believe in him.”

Asked what he expects from Parker as the playoffs dawn, Popovich was no less clear.